Looking up, my eyes immediately sought and found Tracy. She sat less than two feet away from me. I felt myself stiffen, my ankles locked together, and my eyes roamed over the woman who claimed to be my mother. She was looking at me with this…yearning look and I wanted to vomit. Her yearning should have happened twenty years ago. Not now. My eyes travelled over her face seeking a memory. One single memory. I came up empty. "You have a beautiful daughter," she told me. "I do," I replied bowing my head. Her stare was too much. "And a good man," Tracy mused in a dreamy tone. "Good wouldn't be a phrase I would use for him right now," I managed to grind out through clenched teeth as I glanced at Kyle. The side of his face–that I could see–was red. He seemed to be extremely interested in his fingernails all of a sudden. I turned to look at Derek, who was sitting opposite me at the table. 'Chin up' he mouthed as he gave me a reassuring smile. A waiter was dispatched to our table within minutes of us sitting down and took our order.
